Public Velo Stuff

Assorted Velo stuff hosted on this site, as distinct from the Velo Links page which lists external sites of interest.

This is the public face of stuff/articles I've been working on with specific reference to Velocette motorcycles, mostly creating on-line versions of various parts lists, service guides, handbooks etc. that I've been able to acquire through the likes of autojumbles and on-line auction sites. As a rule I keep the work-in-progress stuff hidden behind a login and move it to this area once I think it's in a halfway decent state.

The handbooks are intended to go beyond the more regular fare of PDF (or other format) documents which as often as not are just images of the pages - essentially a digital photocopy. What I wanted was searchable, linkable text - and that's what I've got. The text itself is almost exactly as you'd find it in the original book; the only changes I've made are to correct the odd typographical error or incorrect page/figure references. I haven't for instance, tried to 'update' recommendations for lubricants, tyres and so forth; much advice and opinion on those are readliy available elsewhere. Having said all that, the process for creating the text isn't infallible, and neither am I, so it's possible whole new errors have crept in despite my best efforts at proof reading. If you find any, I'd appreciate a note - mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. should do the trick.

The illustrations in the books have been cleaned up as far as practicable, both to remove the effects of aging (and staining!) and to repair problems in the original printing such as too much or too little ink, air bubbles and so on. Many of the diagrams are re-used by Velocette across models and decades so it's often been possible to find cleaner versions in older manuals, which helps a lot. Similarly (in common with most marques), diagrams for the carburetter and electrics were mostly taken from the manufacturer's documents (Amal, Miller etc.). It's been possible in some cases to find the relevant diagrams in much better condition and transplant them.

I hope you find this useful. If you have any suggestions, requests, comments - the email address above is the preferred route. If you would like to be notified of any additions or major changes to the archive, I maintain a list which you are welcome to join, again, send a note to the email address above asking to join the list. Updates are infrequent, a handful each year, so it won't flood your inbox!